ORANGE, Texas — A Southeast Texas chef and food truck owner is asking for the community to vote for her as she competes in a national cooking competition.
Jennifer Caldwell, the owner of Luna Nashoba food truck, is competing in the Favorite Chef competition presented by Top Chef season 5 winner Chef Carla Hall.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above is from a July 6, 2023 newscast.)
Caldwell officially entered the top 10 after votes were counted on July 6, 2023.
She is currently third in the quarter-finals.
Sweet and savory honey crunch crawfish hot wings, red pepper jam and deep-fried cinnamon rolls are just some of the recipes keeping Caldwell in first place.
Now, she needs the community's help to take her to the next round.
Caldwell is an Orange native who grew up learning to make gravy with her granny.
At 18 years old, she joined the United States Coast Guard, where she became a trained chef.
"Because for them food is moral, and so if you don't have good moral to them it's probably the food," she previously told 12News.
Caldwell brought her cooking techniques back to Southeast Texas and opened Luna Nashoba.
In order to enter the competition, Chef Caldwell submitted photos of her food, posted her recipes and is now getting judged by the entire country.
The winner of this competition will win a $25,000 grand prize, appear in a 2-page advertorial in Taste of Home Magazine and more.
"I get to fly, my husband and I get to fly to New York and we get to cook with Carla Hall. That is the most exciting part is that I actually get to pick her brain with some food and some recipes, and that's very exciting to me," Caldwell said.
If Caldwell wins the grand prize, she plans on growing her nonprofit "American Walker INC."
"It's to give veterans with severe PTSD all essential needs. So food, shelter, education, therapy," she said.
She wants your vote because she has something to prove.
"That a little girl from Texas can make a difference in veterans lives because that's what matters to me," Caldwell said.
To help Chef Caldwell enter semi-finals, you can vote here.
Voting closes at 9 p.m. CST on Thursday, July 13, 2023.